CCTV uncovers children’s hospital staff ‘dragging patients across floor’ in NHS-funded unit

Children at an NHS-funded private hospital allegedly suffered physical abuse at the hands of staff who were found on CCTV dragging patients around corridors, The Independent can reveal.

Joyce Parker Hospital in Coventry, run by Cygnet Health Care, has been sent an official warning by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors found CCTV evidence that young patients had suffered physical abuse from staff.

The hospital, which has 22 mental health beds, has been told it failed to protect patients from “abuse and improper treatment”, in an official warning this month. Nine NHS patients are left in the unit, though it is not clear how many the provider had at the time.

CQC inspectors found CCTV footage which appeared to show staff dragging patients out of rooms and across floors.

West Midlands Police is currently investigating a number of allegations made about the hosptial, officials confirmed.

Coventry City Council said a “multi-agency” investigation is underway into the allegations, but would not comment further.

The CQC can issue Section 29 notices following an inspection which notifies a provider it is failing to comply with Health and Social Care legislation. These notices are not usually published but can be mentioned within an overall inspection report when published.

Providers are able to make challenges to the CQC if it feels a notice has been unreasonably served or is inaccurate.

Cygnet Health Care said in response to The Independent that the CQC warning has yet to be published and said it is in discussions with the watchdog. However it said as part of discussions it refutes the allegations of abuse by the CQC but has reported some “inappropriate use of restraint during very difficult circumstances” in line with its duties.

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A spokesperson for the CQC confirmed it carried out an urgent inspection of Cygnet Health Joyce Parker Hospital following concerns raised and said that following this has taken enforcement action. However it is not restricting admissions to the unit.

Cygnet Health Care is one of the largest providers of privately run inpatient mental health hospitals in the UK and receives hundreds of millions of pounds from the NHS each year. In September 2023 the provider was fined £1.5m over failures linked to the death of a patient at a mental health hospital it runs in Ealing.

The news comes after a national inquiry was opened into inpatient mental healthcare across the country following reports by The Independent and Sky News of systemic abuse of patients at hospitals run by another provider, The Huntercombe Group.

The CQC told the hospital in a Section 29 warning on 8 August, seen by The Independent , it was concerned that staff were physically abusing patients by dragging them while restraining them.

CCTV footage seen by the CQC inspectors of wards in Joyce Parker Hospital showed incidents of patients being restrained and dragged around. In one incident a patient was restrained by staff and dragged backwards along the floor.

During this incident seven staff followed two patients into a bedroom and up to seven staff members were seen dragging one of the patents out and putting them on the floor in the corridor.

In a third incident, after a patient kicked a wall but showed no signs of posing harm to themselves or others, staff dragged the patient into a room where they were held down on a sofa by two members of staff for 10 minutes.

Inspectors also found managers did not adequately supervise staff and did not ensure an appropriate level of training.

In 2019, when the hospital was providing services for adult women with personality and eating disorders, it received an “inadequate” rating and was placed in special measures by the CQC.

And in May 2020 it received a warning from the CQC after concerns raised by patients and their relatives prompted the watchdog to inspect the hospital.

By October 2020, Cygnet Health Care had repurposed the facility as a child and adolescent mental health unit.

However, last year the hospital received positive feedback from the CQC over its services, including that there were low levels of restraint.

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “Following allegations made about the Joyce Parker Hospital, a multi-agency investigation is underway looking into them. As this investigation is live and active, we will not be commenting further until it has concluded.”

A Cygnet spokesperson said: “We can confirm that no warning notices from the CQC have been published and we are still in dialogue with the regulator following their recent visit. As part of these discussions, we refute the allegations of abuse but we have acknowledged, through the safeguarding procedures that we follow, that we reported some inappropriate use of restraint during very difficult circumstances and in line with our duty as a responsible provider.

“We will continue to work transparently with the CQC, partner agencies, our patients and their families to demonstrate our commitment to providing high standards of care. Ongoing training and continuous improvement remain an essential part of our care delivery.

“We take the quality of our service provision very seriously and last month Ofsted rated the inpatient schools service at the hospital ‘good’ in all areas. In addition, the hospital has a 3Q rating from NHS Wales, and Mermaid Ward has just been awarded CAMHeleon Accreditation, which celebrates best practice on CAMHS [Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services] wards and promotes the things that really make a positive difference to young people whilst they are away from their usual lives.”

NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board said it had established a multi-agency oversight group and officals in the West Midlands were conducting regular and ongoing safety and wellbeing checks on the service.

It added: “We can confirm that new admissions to Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital have been suspended while the hospital undertake essential improvement work, following concerns about the standard of care provided. At present, the hospital is supporting nine NHS patients.”